Related Links

Short Story: Trailing for just the fifth time this season at the half, UAlbany clawed its way back to defeat Stony Brook in overtime behind Tiana-Jo Carter’s career night for its first conference road victory.

Coach Mac: “I thought we had a better second half than first. I think it affected our play not having Jess in foul trouble. And I thought defensively we really didn’t stick to our game plan. At the end of the day, though, when we got into over time you could really feel the enery from our end lift. I thought our bench was amazing, and there wasn’t any doubt in our team that when it got into overtime that we going to be able to pull out the win. There’s a lot we have to learn from this game, and we’ll watch film and hopefully improve on the defensive deficiencies and the things tha we didn’t do well.”

A pair of Stony Brook free throws put the Seawolves up 2, before Féquière tied the game at 62

Stony Brook’s push as time expired failed, sending the game to overtime

Féquière opened overtime with a three-pointer to put UAlbany up 65-62

Heather Forster drew a charge with 28.3 remaining with UAlbany leading by one

Recap

After defeating preseason conference favorite New Hampshire over the weekend, the University at Albany women’s basketball team hit the road for a game at Stony Brook. After a tight first quarter and trailing at halftime, UAlbany forced overtime to defeat the Seawolves 72-68.

Stony Brook held a one-point lead after a tightly contested first quarter, during which the lead changed seven times. Neither team held an advantage larger than four points through the first 10 minutes. Senior Tiana-Jo Carter scored six of UAlbany’s 14 first-quarter points, but Stony Brook shot 50% from three to start the second with a 15-14 lead over the Great Danes.

The Seawolves slowly started to inch away in the second quarter, extending their lead to six by the halftime buzzer. Stony Brook had multiple opportunities after they took their second six-point lead with three minutes to go in the half, but UAlbany’s defense prevented Stony Brook from capitalizing on their scoring opportunities. Still, Stony Brook shot 45% from three for the first half, and returned following the break leading 31-25.

Through the first 20 minutes, Stony Brook took their advantage from their success behind the arc, making five three-pointers to UAlbany’s one. The Great Danes struggles from behind the arc continued, shooting a combined 10-44 from deep in their last two and a half games.

Facing their fifth halftime deficit of the season, the Great Danes quickly tied the game at 31 with 8:25 left in the quarter, forcing Stony Brook to take a timeout. The Great Dane built their then-largest lead of the night with 3:57 left in the third following a three-point play from Carter and a three-pointer from Mackenzie Trpcic on consecutive plays, putting UAlbany up 45-40. By the end of the third, UAlbany held its largest lead of the evening to that point, 51-45.

Carter hit a new career-high 20 points after a layup and-one with 3:20 left in the game. Jessica Féquière tied the game at 60 on the next Great Danes possession after the UAlbany defense drew an offensive loose ball foul on the Seawolves. Stony Brook hit two free throws on their next possession, taking a 62-60 lead. Féquière hit a layup with 50 seconds remaining to tie the game at 62.

Féquière set the tone immediately in overtime, hitting a three pointer to put UAlbany up 65-62. Stony Brook responded quickly, bringing the game within one. Leading 69-68, Heather Forster drew a charge, denying the Seawolves the chance to take the lead. Féquière ended the game hitting three of four free throws to give UAlbany the 72-68 victory.

Carter finished with a career-high 22 points on 9-16 shooting, leading three Great Danes in double figures for the evening. Féquière scored all 15 of her points in the second half, including 12 in the fourth quarter and overtime.

Next: The Great Danes return to SEFCU Arena for two straight home games starting Saturday, January 13 in the first of two regular season championship game rematches against Maine.